Beekeepers Professions

[Swn58]

Thanks for all the advice on Ceanothus propagation. This one is the only one that flowers more than once for me. It always flowers twice and this year it is on its third attempt. Light flowering in March, heavy main bloom in June, and a medium one now. That is why I am so keen to propagate rather than buy more (I already have several but this one is special).

I think I will give the layering a go now anyway as it is in a raised bed and easy to get to the earth and try all the other suggestions next year to see if I can get some results. I am going to double fence as many of the field boundaries as I can and put shrubs in between to make a rough flowering hedge.

Don't forget Choisia!

 

[amandaj57]

May I ask which variety it is?
Many thanks,
Emily

Hi Emily, the problem is, I can't remember. I bought about 6 different varieties together about eight years ago and they weren't well labelled. All I know is that it is an evergreen variety, of which I have a couple of others but they don't repeat flower. Hence the desperation to propagate this particular one to retain its properties.

 

[amandaj57]

Don't forget Choisia!

That looks great, I don't have any of that yet. It can go on the list.

 

[Beegarden]

I found a great book called Plants for Bees by Kirk & Howe - details which plants are best for all types of bees in terms of both pollen and nectar. I agree it's bl@@dy annoying that garden centres don't focus on this more.

 

[Beegarden]

Brilliant book! It does however, miss out some good bee plants.

 

[Curly green finger's]

And don't forget one very weird thing. Honey acts as a natural 'rooting compound!' Before dibbing them in the pot, dip them in some honey?

I can well believe it.. You learn something new every day.

retired from police in 2012, last 30 years as a Dog Handler, loved being outside, loved the dogs.
Hence why, I'm still working with dogs, providing specialist search to some nice clients.
But Covid has put paid to a lot of my work for the forseeable, so I'm looking to fill my time with something outside, interesting, complicated and rewarding, and it looks like bees will fit all of them and more.

Again covid has made that difficult so at the minute I'm bee-less, but reading and studying all I can. Waiting to join the local assoc. and start in the spring. have just a bee suit I've had for ages at the minute, and wish list of the basics written for santa.

Appreciate everything is now just about done, and ready for winter, and people will always be wary of strangers at their hives, but if anyone local'ish needs any help in the next while, please ask me............. and If anyone local'ish again [ Ironbridge, Cressage area ] fancies taking on a newbee as a mentor next year, I bake an awesome cake, and make a nice cider .

Sbka have a fb page you could ask on there.

 

[user 819]

The Choisya ternate or common name Mexican Orange blossoms in my garden aren't overly attentive with bees but does see some action. The foliage is fantastic as an aromatic shrub when you brush past it, on very warm days the aroma is lovely.

 

[Swn58]

What you describe is what we were led to believe would happen, and hoped it would, but sadly it never did. It wasn't a great course, sadly. Maybe I felt isolated, such things are often 2 way and yet we often like to 'blame' the others. I'm not great at socialising, I'm a bit of a loner and as such I found the local group to be a bit of tight knit clique; I went to a few meetings but felt such an outsider I never went again. Shame.

I know what you mean. I was in the South Birmingham Beekeepers Association. Hmmmm........

 

[Swn58]

The Choisya ternate or common name Mexican Orange blossoms in my garden aren't overly attentive with bees but does see some action. The foliage is fantastic as an aromatic shrub when you brush past it, on very warm days the aroma is lovely.

The bees on my partners allotment tend to love it!

 

[Hachi]

Shame this thread has ricocheted off

 

[Swn58]

I fell accidentally into sales and marketing after a couple of false starts. I really wanted to go to Uni to become a zoologist back in the 1980's but my father wouldn't pay for me to go, so I started work in a cosmetics factory and worked my way up to eventually become a Sales Director in the Tax & Duty Free division of a very cool makeup brand and travelled all around Europe and the Middle East.

It's funny isn't it? Not many of us know where we're heading, yet are often told that we have to at an early age! I did A levels at skool.....bit of a disaster. I spent more time hunting, fishing and learning survival techniques. I went to Art College....but left early. Self employed as an illustrator for a while, then got offered a gardening job. Three years later I left that job and went self employed as a gardener.... and some times artist. Then someone asked me if i could build a patio. "Of course".....I said! 5 years later I was employing anywhere between 2 to 6 people, as I took on larger design and landscape jobs. Then I lost it all...divorce etc.....moved. A new 'career' happened for 14 years, that I grew to hate. It nearly killed me. Thank goodness that I discovered beekeeping in the middle of all that!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hence why, I'm still working with dogs, providing specialist search to some nice clients.

Have you seen the dog trained to find Asian Hornet nests on Jersey? Amazing
There was once a company "Inscentinel"? that used bees to sniff drugs
I don't think it came to anything in the end.

It's funny isn't it? Not many of us know where we're heading, yet are often told that we have to at an early age!

Some do, though. I wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon from the age of 8

 

[beeker]

I can well believe it.. You learn something new every day.

Sbka have a fb page you could ask on there.

Thank you Curly, I've been in touch with them by email, just waiting for them to send a link to join. Just sad that everything is on hold at the minute, but understand why of course.

 

[madasafish]

May I ask which variety it is?
Many thanks,
Emily

I think it is
arboreus 'Trewithen Blue'

which flowers twice a year..

 

[Curly green finger's]

Thank you Curly, I've been in touch with them by email, just waiting for them to send a link to join. Just sad that everything is on hold at the minute, but understand why of course.

If next year you don't find a mentor and you want to travel to one of my apiarys, from Ironbridge its about 1 hr to the hill.
Pm me to keep in contact, if you want to forward your details I'll have a chat to a few folk and see if we can help with someone more local to you.
Cheers
Mark

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I've more or less retired now. I came from a village in the Highlands, via music college and a career as a piano teacher in Glasgow, to SE England where most of the family now live. I like to make the most of the various activities I've enjoyed, be it piano playing, sailing, photography, painting... And for a while, I've felt a huge urge to start beekeeping.

The local association has been wonderful with education courses and mentoring, and I've now had three seasons. Until Covid-19 I had just two colonies in my garden. Then, despite swarm collecting being a naturally socially distancing activity, I became the only available swarm collector in my locality. Now I have 13 colonies - even though I sometimes put three swarms in one box. I've enjoyed swarm collecting immensely. Almost always people are tingling with excitement over their swarm. Questions abound. I don't always have answers. I have an apiary in a field in a nature reserve, as well as hives in three other gardens, plus my own. Twice people took up my suggestion that they might want to allow their swarm to stay if I provided the hive and care/management. They've also signed up for the next beginners' course.

Trying to find something positive in Covid isolation, I set up a Winter Series of ten Zoom talks for our association. We do what we can to emulate a local BKA meeting. Ours are not webinars. There's no recording. People are seen and can talk to each other before and after the talk. But we have to supply our own tea and cake.

 

[The Poot]

Have you seen the dog trained to find Asian Hornet nests on Jersey? Amazing
There was once a company "Inscentinel"? that used bees to sniff drugs
I don't think it came to anything in the end.


Some do, though. I wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon from the age of 8

They were pretty good in their sting operations though....

 

[Murox]

They were pretty good in their sting operations though....

oooh......groan.......

 

[beeker]

Have you seen the dog trained to find Asian Hornet nests on Jersey? Amazing
There was once a company "Inscentinel"? that used bees to sniff drugs
I don't think it came to anything in the end.

I hadn't seen the Asian hornet training, I'll have a look at at that, not sure if I'd make a living at that though. Think Inscentinel ended a few years back, was based at Rothampstead, was mainly aimed at explosives, my field currently but would work for any detectable odour. Think bees would be far easier to control than my spaniels .

 

[Horatio]

Sorry if that was a bit rude to put a 'haha' face. It was not meant. I was in landscaping and building for 25 years, but can still miss-hit a nail or bruise my thumb! Maybe it was the 14 years as a Retired social-housing manager after that which made me 'lose my eye' in that department?

No, it wasn't rude at all. It was meant to be funny. I left out the bit about shining the hammer head after each nail I hit as I didn't like the black marks left on the frames - all my stuff was new and pristine in those days and I thought I'd keep it that way. I've given that up, together with ironing the bee suit and hanging it on a hanger, although I still wash it of course.